Apparatus for manufacturing loops of elasticised material

ABSTRACT

Apparatus to manufacture loops from elasticised material. The apparatus comprising material feed means whereby an end of strip material is transferred to a rotating work head which forms a loop of material and securing and severing means to fasten overlying parts of the material to form a loop and sever the loop from the strip material.

United States Ptet 11 1 Lee 1 Dec. 11, 1973 APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING[56] References Cited LOOPS OF ELASTICISED MATERIAL UNITED STATESPATENTS [75] Inventor: Harold Barry Lee, Heidelberg, 1,977,825 10/1934Giles 227/105 Victoria, Australia 3,426,708 2/1969 Andersson 112/121.263,448,707 6 1969 Th 11 121. [73] Assrgnee: Bonds Wear Pty. Limited, NewI omen 2/ 26 South wales Austraha Primary Examiner-James R. Boler [22]Filed: Mar. 28, 1972 Attorney-Dexter N. Shaw et al.

[21] A 1. No.: 238 909 pp 57 ABSTRACT Apparatus to manufacture loopsfrom elasticised ma- HO] Foreign Apphcatloln Pnomy Data terial. Theapparatus comprising material feed means Mar. 30, 197.1 Australia PA4452 whereby an end f Strip material is transferred to a tating workhead which forms a loop of material and [52] U.S. Cl. 112/12l.27Securing and severing means to fasten overlying parts [51] llll. Cl;D05b 23/00 of the material to form a p and Sever the p from [58] Fieldof Search l12/121.27; 227/64,

227/105 3 the strip material.

5 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEDIIEE 1 I ma Sir/7.883

SHEET 2 BF 6 PATENTED DEC 1 1 I975 SHEET 3 UF 6 PATENIH] DEC 1 I I875SHEET 6 CF APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING LOOPS OF ELASTICISED MATERIAL Inthe manufacture of garments such as briefs for men and women it isdesirable to have elasticated waistbands.

The object of this invention is to provide a machine which willmanufacture loops of elasticised material. Preferably the machine alsotransfers the loop to a storage position or directly onto a garment asit is moved along a production line.

Accordingly the invention provides a machine for manufacturing loops ofelasticised material, said machine comprising a rotatable work-headhaving a circular periphery and a central axis of rotation, bearingmeans on a frame to support the work head, a stitching machine fixed tothe frame in operative relationship to an anvil fitted to the peripheryof the work head, gripper means on the work head biased to a gripposition on said anvil and releasable by first cam means on the frame,an arm universally pivotally mounted on the frame, an openable beakbiased to closed position fixed to the arm, means to bias the arm to aposition where the beak occupies a first position, second and third cammeans on the frame adapted to move the arm and thus the beak through apath of travel which is substantially rectangular the four terminalpoints of said path defining four operative positions for said beak,fourth cam means on the frame to open the beak, and drive means adaptedto rotate said work head and move the beak between its four operativepositions and actuate said stitcher and actuate a material severingdevice, the operation of said machine being to move the beak from itsfirst position to its second position with the beak open to close thebeak to grip the end of a strip from a material supply which is to beformed into a loop, to move the beak to its third position to locate thestrip behind the beak under the gripper which is open and over theanvil, to close the gripper to clamp the material on the anvil and toopen the beak and move it to its fourth position, to rotate the workhead and at the same time move the beak from the fourth to the firstposition, upon completion of one rotation of the work head to operatethe stapler to form a loop of material and at thesame time move the beakto its second position and grip the material supply behind the stapleforming the loop. to actuate the severing device to cut the materialsupply strip between the staple and the beak and release the gripper.

The drawings illustrating one form of the invention are as follows:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the machine.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view-of the machine drive.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of part of the machine drive.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view of part of the machine at the commencementof an operating cycle.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 after part of an operating cycle.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 at the later stage in the operatingcycle.

FIG. 7 is aview similar to FIG. 5 at a still later stage in theoperating cycle and FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7 where the loop isbeing removed after completion.

The loop forming apparatus comprises a frame 1 on which is mounted apair of inter-connected swinging arms 2 (rotated by an air cylinder notshown in noninventive manner) tied together at one end by a bar 3 and attheir other end by a rail 4 pivotally mounted as at 5 to permit the rail4 to be partly rotated relative to the arms 2. The part rotation of therail 4 is achieved by means of air cylinder 6 extending between a framebar 7 and the frame 1. Two carriages 8 and 9 are mounted on the rail 4,each carriage incorporates a rack extension 10. The two rack extensionsare engaged by a rotatable pinion 11 driven by a shaft 12 throughuniversals 13 from an air cylinder 14 (of known Kuax type) having twopistons joined by a piston rod with a rack cut therein, the rack beingin driving engagement with a gear, the gear is direct coupled to theshaft 12. From each carriage 8 and 9 there is a downwardly extending bar15, each bar 15 has two parallel fingers 16. It will thus be seen thatby rotation of shaft 12 the two carriages 8 and 9 can be broughttogether or separated also that by operation of air cylinder 6 the fourfingers 16 can be moved in unison through an arc.

The remainder of the loop forming machine comprises a main support frame17. Transversely mounted on the frame 17 is a number of inter-connectedshafts supported principally in plates 18.

The shafts are best illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 and comprise a maindrive shaft 19 on which there is a sprocket 20 whereby a drive can beapplied to the shaft 19 from an outside source. Also fixed to the shaft19 is the driving member of a Geneva action movement (of known type)indicated generally at 21. The driving member 21 of the Geneva actionmovement engages a driven member 22 of the Geneva action movementthereby imparting intermittent motion to the gear 23 coupled thereto.The gear 23 drivingly engages gear 24 which is fixed to a shaft 25 (SeeFIG. 3) carrying a work head 26. The ratio of the gears 23 to 24 is suchthat for one quarter revolution of the gear 23 there is a fullrevolution of the gear 24 and thus of the work head 26. The shaft 19,the shaft 27 and shaft 28 see FIG. 2 are interconnected by gearsindicated 29, 30, a gear (not shown) so as to control the operation ofcams and levers and other members to be hereinafter described in orderto fulfill the functions of the various components which work inco-operation with the work head 26.

Attached to the plate 17 there is a mast 31 with a standard wirestitcher (sold commercially under the trade mark BOSTITCI-I with a codenumber 2601AC) vertically mounted thereon. The stitcher is indicated bythe numeral 32 and is operated by an air cylinder in known manner. Thestitcher air cylinder is controlled by cam 33 on shaft 27 and aircontrol 34.

Elastic 35 is fed from any suitable source through a tensioner 36 to thework head 26 where the end of the elastic is nipped between the two jawsof the-beak 37 after the elastic is run through a stationary supportmember 38. The beak 37 has a path of travel from a first position to theright of the stitcher as shown in FIG. 4 laterally to the left of thestitcher 32 to advance the elastic to a position where it will begripped between gripper bar 39 and an anvil 39a portion in a cut out inthe work head 26.

The gripper bar 39 is fixed to an arm 40 pivotally supported by a stubaxle 41 rotatable in a hole in the work head 26. The bar 39 is biased toits gripping position by a spring 42 housed in a socket in the work head26. The

spring 42 engages a stud 43 slidable in a slot 44 in the work head 26.The gripper 39 is raised from its gripping position by the action of acam 45 (on shaft 19) acting on stud 46 on the arm 40. This can onlyoccur when the work head 26 is at rest as shown in FIG. whichillustrates the situation where the gripper 39 is gripping the end ofthe elastic just released by the beak 37 which has taken up itsretracted and thus hidden position. The beak 37 is mounted on an arm 47and comprises a first part 48 fixed to the arm 47 and a movable part 49pivoted as at 50 to the arm 47. The parts 48 and 49 are biased intoengagement with each other by spring 51 housed in arm 47 and separatedby the movement of rod 52. The rod 52 is slidably mounted at the upperand lower ends of the arm 47 and is moved by cam 53.

The arm 47 is forked at its lower end and has a swivel block 54 mountedby axles 55 in the fork limbs. The swivel block 54 has a central openingwhere it is rotatably mounted on shaft 28. The cam 53 fixed to the shaft28 acts as a collar to retain the swivel block 54 in place. A camfollower 56 on the arm 47 is urged into engagement with a cam 57 on theshaft 27 by a spring 58 extending between an axle 55 and the frame 17.

On the arm 47 there is also a cam follower 59 which is urged intoengagement with a face cam 60 by a spring 61 extending between the arm47 and the frame 17. The cam 60 is fixed to shaft 19.

The operation of the mechanism just described is as follows. Onerotation of shaft 19 causes a quarter turn of gear 23 which, acting onthe gears on shafts 25, 27 and 28, causes rotation of these shafts.Assuming the beak 37 is in the position shown in FIG. 4 it will beclosed, as the rod 52 will be on the low part of cam 53 and will beforward because follower 59 will be on the raised part 60a. The arm 47will be moved to the left as shown in FIG. 5, by the cam and rollercombination 56-57 past gripper bar 39 which will be raised by reason ofthe stud 46 being on the lift part of cam 45. The stud 46 will drop ontothe low part of the cam 45 as shaft 19 rotates and the gripper bar 39will drop behind the beak 37 to grip the elastic held by the beak 37against the anvil 39a. The beak is then opened by continued rotation ofshaft 28 and the cam 53 acting on the rod 52. The beak is retracted asthe shaft 19 rotates and the cam follower 59 drops onto the low part ofthe cam 60 under the influence of spring 61. The beak 37 is then movedto the right due to the follower 56 dropping onto the low part of cam 57and the influence of spring 58. The beak 37 will remain in its retracted(to the right) position until the cam follower 59 again moves onto theraised part of the cam 60, at this time the rod 52 is still on theraised part of the cam 53 therefore the beak 37 is open. As the beakadvances and closes the work head 26 will complete its single revolutionthereby forming the circle of elastic and the beak 37 is then closedonto the elastic prior to the stapler 32 being operated by stapler aircylinder to stitch together the portion of elastic just behind thegripper 39 and the elastic overlying that portion. Subsequent to thestapling operation a cutter indicated at 62 which is supported on arm 63and vibrated by vibrator 64 is brought into elastic severing position infront of the beak by means of the co-operation of cam 65 and arm 66which is pivotally mounted on the frame 17 and biased to a rest positionby spring 67. The performance of the foregoing operations results in themanufacture of a stapled loop of elastic with the leading end of thesupply of elastic firmly gripped in the beak ready for a repeat of theloop forming and stapling operations.

During the performance of the loop forming operation the arms 2 haveremained in the position shown in FIG. 1 with the bars 15 verticallyextended and widely spaced apart. This is a preferred position butalternatively the arms 2 could be raised, the bars 15 could be closelyspaced and angled as shown in FIG. 7. Subsequent to the position of FIG.7 being achieved, either as a primary or secondary position, thecylinder 6 is actuated to swing the fingers 16 into opening 68 providedin the work head 26. Subsequent to the insertion of the FIGS. 16 in theopenings 68 cylinder 14 is actuated to cause the bars 15 to be movedapart thereby causing the finished loop to adopt the configuration shownin FIG. 8. The cylinder 6 is again actuated to cause the bars 15 tore-adopt the position shown in FIG. 7 with the loop of elastic stretchedaround the tilted fingers 16. The rail 4 is lowered as the arms 2 arerotated. The rail 4 can be either tilted to make the bars 15 vertical toalign the elastic loop with an object or garment passing beneath theloop forming mechanism or so as to locate the loop adjacenta collectionpoint for removal by either manual or mechanical means.

As an example, the loop could be located over a collector, the bars 15could be brought towards each other so as to leave the loop mounted onthe collector and the fingers 16 could then be withdrawn.

It will of course be understood that the main object of the invention isto manufacture loops of elasticised material the transfer mechanism isonly a convenient form of stripping finished loops from the machine.

Other suitable means may be used to strip loops for example an airoperated hook could be used at the end of each loop manufacturing cycleto pull the finished loop from the work head 26.

I claim:

1. A machine for manufacturing loops of elasticised material, saidmachine comprising a frame, bearing means on the frame, a rotatablework-head having a circular periphery, a central shaft on the work-headmounted rotatably in the bearing means, a material severing device onthe frame, a stitching machine on the frame, an anvil in the peripheryof the work-head in operative relationship to the stiching machine, agripper on the work-head, first resilient means to hold the gripperagainst the anvil, first rotatable cam means on the frame to move thegripper relative to the anvil, an arm universally pivotally connected tothe frame, an openable beak on the arm, second resilient means to movethe arm to a position where the beak occupies a first position, secondand third cam means on the frame to move the arm and thus the beakthrough a path of travel which is substantially rectangular the fourterminal points of said path defining four operative positions for saidbeak, fourth cam means on the frame to open the beak, drive means torotate said work head and move the beak between its four operativepositions, the cycle of operations of said machine being; move the beakfrom its first position to its second position with the beak open; closethe beak to grip one end ofa strip of material which is to be formedinto a loop; move the beak to its third position to locate the stripadjacent the beak over the anvil and under the gripper which is open;close the gripper to clamp the material on the anvil; open the beak andmove it to its fourth position; rotate the work-head and at the sametime move the beak from the fourth to the first position; operate thestitching machine to stitch overlying portions of the material to form aloop of material after one rotation of the work-head; move the beak toits second position and grip the material supply behind the stitchforming the loop; actuate the severing device to cut the material supplystrip between the stitch and the beak and release the gripper.

2. The machine claimed in claim 1 including shafts on which the fourcams are fixed, bearings in the frame to rotatably support the shafts,the connection of the arm to the frame being on the axis of the shaft ofthe fourth cam.

3. The machine claimed in claim 2 including a rod slidably mounted inthe arm and moved axially by the fourth cam to open the beak.

4. The machine claimed in claim 2 including gears and a Geneva actionwhich interconnect the shafts.

5. The machine claimed in claim 1 including a loop remover comprisingtwo pairs of fingers, carriages on which the fingers are mounted, a railon which the carriages are mounted, two pairs of cutouts in theperiphery of the work-head, arms on which the rail is pivotally mounted,drive means to raise and lower the arms and move the carriages on therail and tilt the rail relative to the arms; the relative positioning ofthe loop remover and the work-head being such that with the arms raisedand the rail tilted the fingers can be swung into the work-head cutoutsby removing the rail tilt, separation of the carriages and tilting andlowering of the rail and arms respectively, remove the finished loop andfree the work-head for a further loop fabricating cycle.

1. A machine for manufacturing loops of elasticised material, saidmachine comprising a frame, bearing means on the frame, a rotatablework-head having a circular periphery, a central shaft on the work-headmounted rotatably in the bearing means, a material severing device onthe frame, a stitching machine on the frame, an anvil in the peripheryof the work-head in operative relationship to the stiching machine, agripper on the work-head, first resilient means to hold the gripperagainst the anvil, first rotatable cam means on the frame to move thegripper relative to the anvil, an arm universally pivotally connected tothe frame, an openable beak on the arm, second resilient means to movethe arm to a position where the beak occupies a first position, secondand third cam means on the frame to move the arm and thus the beakthrough a path of travel which is substantially rectangular the fourterminal points of said path defining four operative positions for saidbeak, fourth cam means on the frame to open the beak, drive means torotate said work head and move the beak between its four operativepositions, the cycle of operations of said machine being; move the beakfrom its first position to its second position with the beak open; closethe beak to grip one end of a strip of material which is to be formedinto a loop; move the beak to its third position to locate the stripadjacent the beak over the anvil and under the gripper which is open;close the gripper to clamp the material on the anvil; open the beak andmove it to its fourth position; rotate the work-head and at the sametime move the beak from the fourth to the first position; operate thestitching machine to stitch overlying portions of the material to form aloop of material after one rotation of the work-head; move the beak toits second position and grip the material supply behind the stitchforming the loop; actuate the severing device to cut the material supplystrip between the stitch and the beak and release the gripper.
 2. Themachine claimed in claim 1 including shafts on which the four cams arefixed, bearings in the frame to rotatably support the shafts, theconnection of the arm to the frame being on the axis of the shaft of thefourth cam.
 3. The machine claimed in claim 2 including a rod slidablymounted in the arm and moved axially by the fourth cam to open the beak.4. The machine claimed in claim 2 including gears and a Geneva actionwhich interconnect the shafts.
 5. The machine claimed in claim 1including a loop remover comprising two pairs of fingers, carriages onwhich the fingers are mounted, a rail on which the carriages aremounted, two pairs of cutouts in the periphery of the work-head, arms onwhich the rail is pivotally mounted, drive means to raise and lower thearms and move the carriages on the rail and tilt the rail relative tothe arms; the relative positioning of the loop removeR and the work-headbeing such that with the arms raised and the rail tilted the fingers canbe swung into the work-head cutouts by removing the rail tilt,separation of the carriages and tilting and lowering of the rail andarms respectively, remove the finished loop and free the work-head for afurther loop fabricating cycle.